Acecraft looks like a simple cartoon shooter: drag your plane, dodge bullets, watch the boss explode. Under the rubber hose paint, though, sit a handful of systems that decide whether you scrape through a stage or flatten it. Here’s how each one works, in plain terms, as of the October 2026 update that added SP pilot Drakuku.
The Core Loop at a Glance
Every Adventure stage follows the same rhythm: waves of enemies, roguelike upgrade picks between waves, then a boss. Your permanent upgrades (pilots, Wingmen, Gear) set your starting power, and your in-run picks decide how far that power goes.
| System | Where it lives | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Movement and auto-fire | Every run | Hold and drag to move; your plane fires on its own |
| Pink projectile absorb | Every run | Lift your finger to soak pink shots and trigger your Stunt |
| Attachments and plug-ins | In-run picks | Temporary weapons and boosts that build up during a stage |
| EVO | In-run picks | Evolves a maxed attachment into a stronger version |
| Pilot kit | Pilot screen | Main Cannon, Stunt, Passive and Ultimate |
| Wingmen and elements | Pilot loadout | Extra attacks plus stat bonuses for element matches |
| Support Pilots and Bonds | Pilot screen | Bonded pilots lend Support Skills in battle |
Movement Is Your Health Bar
Hold your finger on the screen and drag to move. While you’re holding, your plane moves and fires automatically, so you never tap to shoot. Your only real job is positioning.
- Keep moving: camping in one spot is how bullet patterns box you in. Small, steady adjustments beat big panicked swipes.
- Stay central: hugging a corner leaves you nowhere to go when a spread shot arrives. The middle third of the screen gives you room to slide either way.
- Learn the patterns: bosses repeat their attacks. (Pro tip: the second time you see a pattern, you should already know where the gap opens.)
The Pink Projectile Absorb (Your Stunt)
This is the mechanic that makes Acecraft feel different. Some enemy shots are pink, and those can be absorbed instead of dodged. Here’s how to do it: lift your finger off the screen. Your plane stops moving and stops firing, and any pink shots that reach it get soaked up instead of hurting you.
Absorbing pink projectiles triggers your pilot’s Stunt, the special attack built into every pilot kit. Vivienne summons Crystal Mirrors that fire Starlight Beams, Sylas launches exploding Whimcaps, Pris fires a barrage of Tracking Missiles. Free damage, fewer bullets on screen, all from one finger lift.
The catch: while your finger is up, you’re a sitting target for every non-pink bullet. Your best bet is short lifts timed to the moments pink shots are close and the rest of the screen is calm. Our pink projectile absorption guide covers the timing in depth.
Your Pilot’s Kit
Every pilot brings four tools into battle. Knowing which one does what makes picking a pilot (and picking upgrades) much easier.
- Main Cannon: your constant auto-fire. Lasers, missiles, shards: each pilot has their own.
- Stunt: fires after you absorb pink projectiles.
- Passive: a background bonus, often a meter that fills as your Main Cannon deals damage.
- Ultimate: your big button. Many Ultimates also clear enemy projectiles, which makes them lifesavers in boss phases.
Pilots come in A (Excellent), S (Epic), SS and SP tiers, and there is no B tier in the current roster. Check out the Acecraft tier list for who’s worth building right now.
Attachments Run Your Build
Attachments are your in-run weapons and boosts. As you clear waves, the game offers you a choice of attachments and plug-ins, and each pick stacks onto your build for the rest of the stage. Each attachment can be leveled up through repeat picks, shown as stars on the card.
The common advice holds up: pour picks into one or two attachments rather than spreading thin, and put your main damage source first. Oh, and lean toward defensive picks while you’re still learning a stage’s patterns. You can always swap to greedier picks once a stage feels comfortable.
EVO: Your Mid-Run Power Spike
Max out an attachment and pick up its matching plug-in, and the attachment evolves into a much stronger version. This is the biggest power jump inside a single run, and it rewards planning: before you commit picks, check which plug-in your main attachment needs, so your EVO lands mid-run instead of never. Our attachments guide breaks down which ones are worth chasing.
Wingmen and Elements
Each pilot flies with up to two Wingmen, which add their own attacks and stat boosts. Many pilots also have a Signature Wingman that gains an extra effect when that pilot equips it (Pris’s Deadly Lily, for example, gains an overload mode with two extra lily flowers).
Pilots and Wingmen carry one of four elements: Solaris, Sandstorm, Cyclone and Nimbus. Match an Epic Wingman to a pilot of the same element and that pilot gains +25% Base Attributes. Over a whole run, that quiet bonus can outweigh almost any single upgrade pick. The element matching guide and Wingman guide go deeper.
Support Pilots and Bonds
Promote a pilot to 3 Stars and you unlock the Support Pilot feature for them. Pilots who share a special Bond provide unique Support Skills to each other in battle, so the pilots sitting on your bench still pull their weight.
Bonds are listed on the Pilots screen (think Friends at First Fight or Dynamic Duo). If you’re choosing between two similar pilots to level, the one with a Bond partner you already own is usually the better investment.
Permanent Upgrades Between Runs
Everything above happens inside a stage. Between stages, your long-term power comes from leveling pilots, Gear (fused up through rarities), Emblems (unlocked after Adventure stage 4-6) and the Modify screen. Our Gear fusion guide and pilot amplification guide cover those systems step by step.
Acecraft Game Mechanics FAQ
How do you absorb pink bullets in Acecraft?
Lift your finger off the screen. Your plane stops and absorbs any pink projectiles that hit it, which triggers your pilot’s Stunt. Holding your finger down moves the plane and fires.
What does EVO mean in Acecraft?
EVO is an attachment evolution. Max out an attachment during a run and pick up its matching plug-in, and it evolves into a stronger version.
How many Wingmen can a pilot equip?
Up to two. Matching an Epic Wingman’s element to the pilot’s element gives that pilot +25% Base Attributes.
What are the four elements in Acecraft?
Solaris, Sandstorm, Cyclone and Nimbus. Both pilots and Wingmen belong to one of them.
Does Acecraft fire automatically?
Yes. Your plane fires on its own while you hold and drag to move. You only stop firing when you lift your finger to absorb pink projectiles.
Pro Tip: dodge, absorb, counter. Clear the wave, pick the upgrade that deepens your main attachment, chase the EVO, and let your matched Wingmen multiply everything in the background. Nailed it? Then you’re ready for the beginner’s guide tips that turn a good run into a three-star one.
